Like many cities, pursing economic and population growth while conserving the natural environment is a finely tuned arrangement. In this case the area at risk includes wetlands with abundant biodiversity, a wide range of ecosystems and ecological processes, including hosting rare avian and aquatic species.
The City of Edmonton sought our team's expertise to conduct an integrated surface water and groundwater assessment, and consider the ecological sustainability of this natural environment against the potential adverse impacts of a residential development.
We completed a first-of-a-kind for detailed ecohydrological study of stormwater-influenced wetlands for the City of Edmonton, including the evaluation of engineering implications for storm pond design to manage run-off in more sustainable ways.
Based on the technical and quantifiable outcomes of this study, and our team's conceptual mitigation designs, the City has directed the developers to take specific actions to bring the proposed neighborhoods and natural area into harmony.
The study proposed ‘leaky’ stormwater ponds in conjunction with adaptive wetlands monitoring to conserve wetlands. If implemented, this will be a paradigm shift to stormwater pond design and wetlands assessment in Edmonton and Alberta.
This work was performed by Golder professionals who joined WSP in an acquisition completed in 2021.
